Fanfare wanes for action-packed UFC 140

Light Heavyweight Champ Jon ‘Bones’ Jones will put his belt on the line at the Air Canada Centre Saturday at UFC 140. He's seen here during the weigh-ins at UFC 128 in New Jersey. (CHRIS DOUCETTE/Toronto Sun)

The fanfare for the event has paled in comparison to last April’s spectacle when the city had been buzzing for months about UFC 129, which was headlined by Canada’s own Georges St. Pierre.

But this time around, it is being held at the much smaller Air Canada Centre.

Still, UFC 140 promises to be action-packed.

“It’s going to be a great night,” promised Tom Wright, the UFC’s director of Canadian operations.

Officials knew the return visit to Toronto would be compared to the hugely successful UFC 129 so they’ve stacked the UFC 140 card with exciting match-ups, including a main event with the phenomenon Jon (Bones) Jones.

“He’s the new face of our sport,” Wright said of the light heavyweight champ, who will fight for the fourth time this year.

Jones, 24, has steamrolled through his first three opponents of 2011 beating Ryan Bader with a guillotine choke in February, snatching the title from Mauricio (Shogun) Rua six weeks later, then submitting Quinton (Rampage) Jackson in September.

Three great fighters and they all looked lost against Jones.

Now it’s Lyoto (the Dragon) Machida’s turn.

“Both of these guys are great fighters, very unpredictable with unorthodox styles,” Wright said.

Machida held the light heavyweight belt until he was knocked out by Rua in 2010. That same year, he lost a split decision to Rampage.

But after sending hall of famer Randy Couture into retirement with a Karate Kid crane kick at UFC 129, the Dragon earned the chance to regain the title.

“He won Knockout of the Night with that front kick to poor Randy’s chin,” Wright said.

And Mark (the Machine) Hominick, who brought the crowd to its feet at the last Toronto show, fights Chan Sung Jung (the Korean Zombie).

“There’s a guy who lost but his stock still went up,” Wright said of the Thamesford, Ont., native, whose UFC 129 bout won Fight of the Night.

Hominick took a beating for four rounds from featherweight champ Jose Aldo, but he gutted it out and came back in the fifth round despite a scary-looking haematoma bulging from his forehead.

His loss by unanimous decision was like a real life Rocky movie.

“I expected to see him finish the fight and turn to his wife and yell, ‘Yo Adrian!’” Wright said with a laugh, referring to Hominick’s new bride who was Octagon-side and very pregnant.

Hominick will also be among the fighters appearing at an event for at-risk youth at the Rogers Centre this week.

“They’ll talk about hard work, discipline and respect, all the things that are important to growing up as well as being successful in our sport,” Wright said.

Other Canadians on the card include Claude Patrick, of Mississauga, Mark Bocek, of Toronto, John Makdessi, of Halifax, Yves Jabouin, of Montreal, and Mitch Clarke, of Saskatoon.

Despite the great line-up, there’s been little hoopla over the city’s second ever UFC event, which still has tickets available.

In reality, with so many cities around the world clamouring to host the UFC these days, Toronto should be counting its blessings. Only Montreal in 2010 and Las Vegas, where the UFC is headquartered, have ever held two events in the same year, Wright said.

The UFC will likely come to town at least once a year from now on, he said, adding the ACC show is more in line with a typical UFC event.

Wright said it would have been next to impossible to match the success of UFC 129, which had the benefit of months of debate over Ontario’s MMA ban.

By the time the government lifted its ban, people were itching to buy tickets and 55,000 or so were sold in minutes.

The fact it was the UFC’s first ever stadium show, it had a fan expo and two main events, made UFC 129 a “global event.”

“All of those things came together to form the perfect storm,” Wright said.

Fans from across Canada and every continent except Antarctica bought tickets to the first show and only about 35 per cent were from the Toronto area.

“That works out to about 15,000 people and I’m sure we’ll have more than that at UFC 140,” Wright said. “This is a great card, the ACC is a world-class venue and it’s going to be a fantastic week.”